traditional irish music

'When you're playing with other people...and you get that feeling that is above and beyond life, in a sense. Where you just go, this is why I exist. This is as happy as this bunch of cells can be, right now, on this planet.' If there’s a better way to spend an hour and a bit of your day than listening to this week's episode with Ewen Baker, I’ve not heard of it. Ewen’s a fiddle player, arranger, multi instrumentalist and teacher, and he takes us on a journey to find the music-induced tingly feeling, via The Oils, J. S. Bach and Kerry Slides; St Anne’s Reel and The Bushwhackers; collaboration and individualism; coming to terms with our own imperfections but still getting stuff done. And we don’t even get around to talking about working with songwriters, at which Ewen’s an acknowledged master. Still, it gives us an excuse to do a second episode down the line. In this episode Ewen plays the following tunes: Merrily Kissed the Quaker’s Wife Brian Boru's March St Anne’s Reel Sheehan's Reel The Australian Waters Mama's Reel Ewen’s collaborated with a huge range of musicians over the course of his career, but it was only a couple of years ago that he released his first CD, ‘The Inch Before The Saw.’ As in, the only thing in life you really need to be worrying about is…’the inch before the saw.’ You can find the CD here, and as we say in the episode, it’s a cracker: https://ewenbaker.com.au/store 'It's a session in your speakers.' Ewen’s collaboration with Paddy Fitzgerald, Jack Brennan and Geoff McArthur is called Lisnacrieve, and you can find the gofundme page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/paddy-fitzgerald-cd As always, the episode is free to download or stream from everywhere you get podcasts: Our website: https://blarneypilgrims.fireside.fm/49 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3fM61MG Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/3cPTkis Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2T1il26 We'd also like to say a huge thank you to today's episode sponsor, Ceol.fm. This is a bloody brilliant service. So do yourself a favour and head over there and check it out. www.ceol.fm Ewen, thanks for a cracking chat. And with that, we’re away. Darren & Dom ... We know it's a tough time so we hope you can hang in there with us. If you liked this episode and think you got some worth from it, then please pledge at any level over at www.patreon.com/blarneypilgrims. If you can't afford to pledge on Patreon, and we totally understand if you can't, all is not lost. You can still support the show by sharing it on your socials, posting about it in your favourite forums or simply by telling your mates about it down the pub. www.blarneypilgrims.com www.patreon.com/blarneypilgrims www.facebook.com/blarneypilgrimspodcast www.instagram.com/blarneypilgrimspodcast www.twitter.com/BlarneyPodcast

On ABC song books, on the south-western coast of Victoria, on Scottish cèilidhs, on the highland pipes, on learning and teaching and on the understanding of air. This interview has been a long time coming and it was everything we hoped it would be. Thanks so much for your time, your patience and your beautiful tunes Merran. If you'd like to contact Merran about lessons or having a tune down Warrnambool way then please follow her here: https://www.facebook.com/merran.moir In this episode Merran plays: Sound of the Sun / Vivian's Jig The Family Set - Kyle's Waltz / Margaret McLachlan / New Year in Noosa Devil in the Kitchen / The Fairy Dance / Humours of Tulla Unnamed Air (Merran's original composition) The Longford Collector / Castle Kelly / name missing As always the episode is free to download or stream from everywhere you get podcasts: Our website: https://blarneypilgrims.fireside.fm/48 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/35CprPF Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/3cPTkis Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3caCZnT We'd also like to say a huge thank you to today's episode sponsor, Ceol.fm. This is a bloody brilliant service. So do yourself a favour and head over there and check it out. www.ceol.fm Right that's it, see you next week. Enjoy! Darren & Dom ... We know it's a tough time so we hope you can hang in there with us. If you liked this episode and think you got some worth from it, then please pledge at any level over at www.patreon.com/blarneypilgrims. If you can't afford to pledge on Patreon, and we totally understand if you can't, all is not lost. You can still support the show by sharing it on your socials, posting about it in your favourite forums or simply by telling your mates about it down the pub. www.blarneypilgrims.com www.patreon.com/blarneypilgrims www.facebook.com/blarneypilgrimspodcast www.instagram.com/blarneypilgrimspodcast

There's a single story or a thousand stories in this week's episode. The story of Mick Doherty, Donegal fiddle player of the famed Doherty family of tinsmiths, travelers and musicians. The story of his father's music, and of his grandfather's music. And woven in and around it all the figure of Johnny Doherty - Mick's uncle - one of the iconic Irish fiddle players, a tinsmith himself, and traveling man.  Johnny was the subject of a documentary in 1972, a film called Fiddler on the Road. Produced by Ulster Television, it's a fascinating document of a moment in his life and, like all the best documentaries, it shifts a little each time you watch it. In fact, if you watch really closely, you'll notice how with the passing of time the film itself has assumed a strange, elastic quality. So the background behind Johnny as he plays seems to sway in places and elongate and contract, as if it's about to come loose from its moorings. Listen to Mick speaking of his uncle Johnny, and that effect is amplified. Fiddler On The Road: https://bit.ly/3bMLQfx Mick Doherty recorded his one and only CD in partnership with his student and friend Rob Zielinski, of Perth, Western Australia. Mick lived in WA until his death in 2014, and we have Rob to thank for the tunes preserved on that CD, the echoes of Mick's father and grandfather in the playing, and for the recordings that make up today's episode.  In collaboration with Rob, in 2009 Kevin Bradley at the National Museum in Canberra recorded five separate sessions in conversation with Mick, sessions covering his life story, family history and musical lineage. It's thanks to them we have this treasure to share with you today. Truth be told, Mick's speaking voice is a long, unspooling melody itself, with a cadence and rhythm that carry within them the man as he was in 2009 and the lives he had lived up to that point. We've re-arranged some segments of the original archive recordings so they play sequentially in this episode. And we feel it's true to the spirit of Mick's story, his voice and his playing. If you'd like to dive into the entire series of recordings, go here: https://bit.ly/3bZ1dBi And please check out Mick Doherty's CD recorded with Rob Zielinski. It's essential listening really: https://www.robertzielinskimusic.com/shop And as we mention during the show,  our heartfelt thanks to Kevin Bradley and Rob Zielinski for all their help with this episode.  We hope you're all keeping well, and we'll see you next week.  Darren and Dom ... Well, we know it's a tough time so we hope you can hang in there with us, and we'll do the same for you. So if you liked this episode and think you got some worth from it, then please pledge at any level over at www.patreon.com/blarneypilgrims. If you can't afford to pledge on Patreon, and we totally understand if you can't, all is not lost. You can still support the show by sharing it on your socials, posting about it in your favourite forums or simply by telling your mates about it down the pub. www.patreon.com/blarneypilgrims www.blarneypilgrims.com www.facebook.com/BlarneyPilgrimsPodcast https://www.instagram.com/blarneypilgrimspodcast/

All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, Liz Carroll, stops into the Windy City Irish Radio Studios to debut her new CD "On The Offbeat". Liz shares stories of her new album, her musical influences, stories from her younger days and several live in-studio performances including a special "Irish" tribute to the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, on the anniversary of his birth. Join Mike Shevlin and Tim Taylor for an hour of the finest traditional Irish music. Find more information about Windy City Irish Radio at www.windycityirishradio.com or find us on facebook.